Over jezelf

Woonplaats

Hobby's

Werk

Auto

Get the Flash Player to see this player.
Another Geneva Motor Show is in the rear-view mirror, which means it’s time for us to start making fun of all the stuff we didn’t like.
Accordingly, here’s our obligatory list of winners and losers, a specially curated selection of vehicles hand picked by the AutoGuide.com staff. For a little extra balance, we’ve also included a few undecided options.
SEE ALSO: 2019 Geneva Motor Coverage
WINNER: Vanquish Vision Concept
Aston Martin is firing on all cylinders, debuting a trio of design studies in Switzerland. Arguably the coolest of the bunch is this, the Vanquish Vision Concept. Despite the McLaren-esque proportions, it previews the British Brand’s first mid-engine production model. In typical fashion, it features an aluminum structure, but what’s not expected for Aston Martin is the power source, a turbocharged and hybridized V6.
ALSO SEE: Aston Martin Unveils Three Stunning New Concept Cars
WINNER: Honda e Prototype
Next up, something at the opposite end of the spectrum. Honda’s e Prototype hints at the Japanese brand’s first battery-electric production vehicle. An urban runabout, it offers a driving range of 200-kilometers – about 125 miles – and can be charged to 80 percent capacity in as little as 30 minutes. Unusual for a Honda, this car is rear-wheel drive. The production model is slated to debut later this year as a 2020 model, possibly at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
WINNER: Alfa Romeo Tonale
crossovers, Crossovers, CROSSOVERS! The world just can’t get enough of these things. Helping satiate demand, Alfa Romeo unveiled a new premium compact SUV in Geneva. Smaller than their acclaimed Stelvio, Tonale is the Italian brand’s first plug-in hybrid. Basically, zero details about its drivetrain have been shared at this time, but it promises best-in-segment dynamics, which we’d expect it to deliver. With classic styling and a sweeping interior, it at least looks like a winner.
WINNER: Bugatti La Voiture Noire
Now for what was perhaps the star of this year’s Geneva show, a mega-pricey, one-off creation from Bugatti. Called La Voiture Noire, which translates rather fittingly to “the black car,” this creation was clearly inspired by Darth Vader, or the legendary Type 57 SC Atlantic. Your pick…
Power is provided by a 16-cylinder engine that delivers about 1,500 horses. This one-of-one grand-tourer sold for nearly $13 million. Whoever bought it can sleep soundly at night knowing that nobody else is going to roll in in a La Voiture Noire at their local cars and coffee.
UNDECIDED: Mazda CX-30
Shifting gears, let’s focus on a few of Geneva’s UNDECIDED reveals. And the new Mazda CX-30 crossover is a bit of a head-scratcher. Size-wise, it’s intended to slot between the CX-3 and CX-5 models. But this raises a couple questions: One, why do they need a vehicle sandwiched in the middle of these two offerings? And two, shouldn’t it just be called CX-4? On the plus side, this thing is beautifully styled and will likely be brilliant to drive.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Engines of 2019
UNDECIDED: Subaru Viziv Concept
The Subaru Viziv Adrenaline Concept is yet another installment of the automaker’s Viziv range of design studies. It showcases the bolder, more exciting direction Subaru styling is supposedly heading. While we certainly wouldn’t call it ugly, neither is it breathtaking. Of course, since this is a concept, powertrain, pricing and other details are unknown, but we’d still bet this is an early look at the next-generation Crosstrek. Your thoughts?
UNDECIDED: Volkswagen ID BUGGY
The last UNDECIDED vehicle on this list is the Volkswagen ID BUGGY concept. A battery-powered dune-hopper, it demonstrates what the company can do with its advanced MEB electric-vehicle architecture. This thing’s got a 62 kWh battery and a 201-horsepower motor, both of which can deliver 62 miles an hour in as little as 7.2 seconds. The ID BUGGY is kind of cool, and there are rumblings they’ll actually build it, but we shall see if it makes it to production without being completely watered down.
LOSER: Imagine by Kia
Moving on to the LOSERS, we start with the Imagine by Kia concept, which may have the worst name of the entire Geneva show. Predictably, it’s an all-electric design study that vaguely resembles a crossover. It’s got a six-layer paint job, 22-inch wheels and even a continuous piece of glass that forms both the windshield and roof. Upping the ridiculousness, it’s gussied up with 21 individual screens inside, like someone shuffled a stack of smartphones. According to the press release it’s “designed to get your pulse racing.” Yeah, OK.
SEE ALSO: 2019 Detroit Auto Show Winners and Losers — The Short List
LOSER: Ginetta Akula
With supercars, you expect certain design flair, but the Ginetta Akula is just too friggin’ weird. This thing’s got more gills than a school of sardines! Unsurprisingly for an exotic, it’s made of carbon fiber and features a mid-mounted engine. It also brandishes 600 horsepower and can hit 200 miles an hour. Aside from the design, there’s another BIG downside. It costs more than half-a-million dollars.
LOSER: Smart Forease+
And the last LOSER we’ve got here is the Smart Forease+, which made its official debut in Geneva. If you remember back to the Paris show last fall, the automaker revealed a concept called the Forease. Well, this is essentially the same thing but with a removable roof. It’s kind of like microwaving leftovers, right?
Check out more episodes of The Short List
The post Winners and Losers from the 2019 Geneva Motor Show – The Short List appeared first on AutoGuide.com.
Lees volledige artikel

Kia is a popular brand in North America, but many Canadians and Americans may not know the origins of the brand, why it has a close relationship with Hyundai, or where the company makes its vehicles.
SEE ALSO: 2019 Kia Forte Review
In this post, we’ll explain Kia’s origins and also list every plant the company operates that serves the North American market. Just like its sister brand Hyundai, Kia is an international company, so it builds cars in many different places for many different markets, but this post will only focus on its North American-serving plants.
Where is Kia From?
Kia was founded in Seoul, South Korea, in 1944 and was originally called Kyungsung Precision Industry before changing its name to Kia Industries in 1956. Kia’s global headquarters are still located in Seoul today. It solely produced vehicles under license from other automakers such as Ford, Mazda, Fiat, and Peugeot and enjoyed a good degree of success both domestically in Korea and abroad, but went bankrupt amidst the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s.
SEE ALSO: Kia Stinger Review
Rival South Korean automaker Hyundai purchased a 51% stake in Kia in 1998, outbidding Ford in the process, and remains Kia’s largest single stakeholder today. While Hyundai now owns only one-third of Kia, the companies have a strange ownership structure in which Kia also owns small stakes in several Hyundai companies, closely intertwining the companies. The companies share many platforms and engines for their vehicles.
Where Are Kias Made?
Sohari Plant – Gwangmyeong, South Korea
Kia K900
Kia Stinger
Kia Sedona
Hwaseong Plant – Woojeong-myeon, South Korea
Kia Cadenza
Kia Niro
Gwanju Plant – Gwanju, South Korea
Kia Soul
Kia Sportage
Monterrey Plant – Monterrey, Mexico
Kia Forte
Kia Rio
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia – West Point, Georgia
Kia Sorrento
Kia Optima
Ulsan Plant (Hyundai) – Ulsan, South Korea
Kia Telluride
SEE ALSO: Where is Hyundai From and Where are Hyundais Made?
OR
Where Is Toyota From and Where Are Toyotas Made?
The post Where is Kia From and Where are Kias Made? appeared first on AutoGuide.com.
Lees volledige artikel